


Newly Deads

by Dotdotbeepdot



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ghosts, Broken Bones, Car Accidents, Gen, Gore, Heart Attacks, Hospitals, I guess cause they're ghost, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Panic, Remus being Remus, Temporary Character Death, Vomiting, ask to tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:00:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26213773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dotdotbeepdot/pseuds/Dotdotbeepdot
Summary: Janus was there to bring all the ghosts together. He was there for their deaths and helped them live after death.
Relationships: None
Comments: 4
Kudos: 51





	1. Patton, 1979

Janus never liked hospital visits. They always seemed painful to him, to die in a place where they were supposed to be saved, having loved ones right next door or no one at all worrying for them. It almost makes him relieved that he didn’t die in such a place.

Patton stumbled through the busy hall of the emergency wing, face flushed red and legs shaking. He looked around in confusion and pain. He was still in pain.

Janus made himself known.

“You look lost,” he said, making Patton jump. “I can help you, child.”

“Child?” Patton laughed, though it was strained and his smile didn’t reach his ears. “I’m almost 40! You look no older than 15. Who are you to call me a child?”

Janus suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. He hates dealing with older people when they die. “I assure you, I am  _ much _ older than you. And if you don’t wish for my help, I can just leave you here to figure everything out for yourself.”

With the threat in place, Janus whipped back around, cape swatting at his heels behind him as he walked towards the shadows. He heard Patton call after him, trying to catch up with him. Janus— still feeling a little bitter to be condescended— ducked from Patton’s hand as he went to grab his shoulder, instead his hand went straight through a nurses back. 

Patton stopped hard, pale blue eyes wide behind thick frames. He stared at his hand and then looking at the people around him, noticing not a single person acknowledging his presence, some even bumping his shoulder and going straight through. He stared forward, eyes moving back and forth like he couldn’t understand what was happening.

Janus took pity on him. He walked forward slowly, seeing Patton as some frightened animal. He gently took his hand, watching as the man’s round face pinched and his bottom lip trembled. He let out a sob, no tears falling from his eyes for he had no body to produce them.

“I’m not breathing right,” he whimpered, hugging his arms around his middle. “My chest— it hurts, it’s not moving  _ at all—“ _

“Patton,” Janus began softly. Yellow gloved thumbs rubbing circles into swollen hands. “I know that this is scary, this is painful and hard and so,  _ so scary. _ There is nothing I can say to make everything better, I can only help you move on.”

Patton shuddered and clutched Janus’s small hands. “W-who are you? Why… what happened to me?”

“My name is Janus. You had a heart failure while at dinner with your family,” Patton let out another pained noise at the mention of his family. “They rushed you to the hospital as fast as they could, but you didn’t make it. I’m so very sorry, child, I understand the pain.”

Patton sniffled uselessly. “My family— my wife and kids— c-can I see them? Please?”

Janus smiled. “Of course. Follow me.”


	2. Remus, 2011

Janus grimaced as he saw the newest dead cough and heave, still sitting in his body. Patton might’ve died with his family in the next room, but Remus was alone in the taxi coming back from a hookup, wasted and high out of his mind. It was hard to watch. 

“This will hurt for a moment,” Janus began taking off his glove, Remus jolted and looked up. Janus grabbed his chin and shoved two fingers down his throat. He quickly let go and Remus vomited all over the taxi floor. “Wasn’t too bad, now was it?”

“What,” Remus spat up more pale green vomit. “The fuck…”

“I have the same thoughts,” Janus fought a smile. He’s a strange kid. “What made you stoop so low that you die in such an undignified way?”

Remus easily brushed past the fact that Janus just told him he was dead. “A mixture of catholic guilt, bad parenting, and undiagnosed mental illness. I hold no shame.”

“Not even a little shame for dying in a stranger’s taxi?” Janus raised an eyebrow.

Remus laughed and it sounded like he swallowed rocks. He looked at the driver and the face of disgust he was making as he started to smell his corpus. “Jokes on him, I have no money or address.”

Janus liked this one. Usually they had a hard time accepting their deaths or wouldn’t at all. Even the ones that died similar to Remus would have issues. 

Remus shuddered suddenly and he swallowed back a whimper. Janus frowned. Clearly, he still had issues. No one was that okay with death, after all.

“My brother…” Remus croaked. He shook his head. “He’s fine. He’ll be fine.”

“Do you miss him?” he asked. “We can visit him.”

Remus looked up at him. Unfocused hazel eyes trained on Janus. “Can I do that? I’m not like, haunting a taxi for the rest of my afterlife am I?”

Janus laughed softly. “No, that’s not how it works. Let’s go before your driver figures out you’re dead.”


	3. Roman, 2017

Janus didn’t often feel uncomfortable with a death, but these are not ones he entirely enjoys. And it wasn’t so often that he’s had company with him during the death.

He was in a hospital again, Remus by his side. The younger ghost hovering restlessly around Janus as he chewed on his nails until they became nubs. Janus stopped Remus from floating another lap around him by placing a hand on his chest. He pulled his hand away as well, not wanting Remus to swallow a nail and make himself throw up again. 

“He’ll be up soon, child, please just sit still for a moment,” Janus held Remus’s hand and put the other on his shoulder, trying to push him to the floor. “You shouldn’t be floating when he sees you. It will scare him.”

“Seeing me at all will scare him. I’ve been dead for like, seven years.” But Remus did drop his heels to the floor, clearing the acid buildup in his throat. 

Janus was about to open his mouth to agree and say “you insisted on coming as soon as you heard it was him,” but they heard a scream come from Roman’s room. 

Janus ignored his image of calm and mysterious for a moment as he rushed to the doors. Panic was never good for new ghosts. Panic could lead to too much power in the physical world, can lead to more people dying, or it can even lead to a violent and vengeful ghost. He needed to calm Roman down fast before something terrible happened.

Roman was standing away from his body, hands over his ears and eyes impossibly wide. He screamed again and Janus saw the lights flicker around the room, nurses and doctors looking around in confusion and fear. If Roman caused a power outage, he could kill many other people in this hospital.

Janus quickly made his way over to Roman, grabbing him by the shoulders and pulling him down so all he could see was his bloody and swollen face. 

“Roman, keep your eyes on me,” this Janus always hated this. Calming a ghost down was never easy because you could not tell them to take a deep breath because they will panic when their chest doesn’t respond to it. “Focus on me. Not on yourself.”

Roman was breathing heavily and that must’ve been scaring him more. Janus clenched his teeth and slapped a hand over his mouth, pinching his nose as well. 

“Stop breathing, it's making everything worse,” he said. “Just look at me. Study me and my face, my clothes, anything. Just focus on me and me alone.”

“That sounds like something he would say.” 

_ Shit. _

Roman’s eyes darted to Remus and he froze completely. Janus sighed and glared at the younger twin. “Remus, I thought I told you to wait outside.”

“Actually you didn’t say anything, you just charged into action.” Remus started to get closer, feet still not touching the ground as he walked. Janus stopped him short by putting up a hand.

“You are going to make this worse for—”

“I’m really dead aren’t I?” 

Janus turned back around to see Roman eyes set on Remus. There were too many conflicting emotions running through his eyes to see really what he was feeling about the knowledge. Janus straightened up and started to build up his image again. “I’m afraid so.”

“Welcome to the Overworld, Buddy!”

Janus groaned.


	4. Virgil, 2017

Janus once again felt his stomach twist at the thought of how this one died. So close to the last one and so young… it’s why he asked Remus to stay behind for this one. This was too sensitive of a situation for him.

Virgil just sat against the wall of the bathroom, playing with the cuffs of his hoodie sleeves. His body was not two feet away from him, hanging from a ceiling fan. He looked up when Janus approached, even though his feet never made a sound.

“This isn’t what I thought would happen.” He muttered, not sounding bitter. Just… numb.

“Not many who follow in your footsteps do,” Janus nodded towards the space next to him. “Mind if I sit?”

Virgil just grunted so he took that as a “I don’t care” and sat down. He gave him enough space to feel comfortable, even though that was near impossible at the moment. 

“It’s a shame you couldn’t hold on much longer,” he whispered. “Eighteen. You could’ve left this place and never come back.”

“I know,” Virgil sniffed, but his voice stayed steady. “I just… I couldn’t—”

“You don’t have to explain yourself to me, child,” Janus cut him off, taking his hand gently. Virgil looked at him with glossy eyes. “It’s hard to stay living when everyone is telling you to stop.”

Virgil swallowed and his expression looked pained. “I didn’t do it right.”

Janus winced. He looked at the obvious bruises on his neck and how it didn’t look to be broken. “I am so sorry, child.”

“Stop calling me child, I’m an adult and you look like a freshman.” Janus soured for a moment.

“Compared to my real age, you are an infant,” he hissed. Virgil didn’t look phased by it, but Janus still had the conscience to feel guilty. “Sorry. I just… I get that a lot.”

“Wonder why,” Virgil rolled his eyes and pushed himself off the floor. “So why are you here? I know I’m dead and you are too, so what? Are we ghost cursed to haunt this place?”

Janus got up as well and brushed off his clothes, more as a temporary distraction than to get anything off them. “That will take a moment to explain.”


	5. Logan, 2020

Janus couldn’t lie and say that this one didn’t surprise him. Usually people that get hit by a car are still alive until they get to the hospital, but the ambulance’s sirens were still a block or two away when he died.

Logan held a hand to his head, feeling the blood flowing like a river down his face. He limped, unaware of his twisted and broken leg and simply thinking it was a minor injury. He looked at the people screaming in confusion and worry.

“Oh, it wasn’t his time yet,” Patton moaned sadly from beside him. “He still had so many more years and memories left to make.”

“Fate is not one we can escape, I’m afraid,” Roman responded. “She’s a tricky little bitch.”

Remus laughed and Virgil glared at him. “This doesn’t seem to be a time to be joking! He just died  _ and _ he could hear us.”

“Virgil is right,” Janus looked back at the others for a moment before returning his gaze to the man. “Though, I do appreciate a little dark comedy from time to time.”

“I’ve rubbed off on you.” Remus giggled like a child.

Janus ignored them and held up a hand for them to stay put. He walked towards Logan, face neutral and indifferent. Once Logan caught his eye, he dropped his hand from his head. 

“What happened!?” He shouted over all the commotion. “My glasses are broken and it’s harder to see with blood in my eye.”

“No one else is hurt,” Janus said at a normal level. He stopped in front of the man. “I’m afraid you’re the only one suffering.”

Logan looked confused. “I feel fine? My pain is moderately low, head injuries look worse than they are and my limp is nothing more than a sprain most likely.”

“I would agree if your brain wasn’t visible and your leg wasn’t facing the other direction.”

Logan looked down at his leg and his eyes widened, seeing the bone jutting out and blood staining his pant leg. He reached his hand up and felt the open gash in his skull, brushing over squishy, smashed brains. He pulled his hand back with a piece still stuck to his finger.

“H-how—” he stopped short, shaking his head. His eyes met Janus. “How am I still alive?”

“You aren’t,” Janus waved a hand towards the accident and Logan looked back in time to see his mangled body be shielded by police. “Died as soon as your head hit the ground. We believe you were supposed to survive this, but something about your position made that impossible.”

“We?” Logan tore his gaze away from his body and looked at him again. Janus waved to the men behind him this time. Patton waved sympathetically, Remus with inappropriate enthusiasm, and the other two awkwardly and uncomfortable. 

“They are friends of mine I suppose. All died over the years. I’ve been working to help them move on and rest in the afterlife.” Janus turned back to Logan. 

Logan stared at them a little longer, before his eyebrows pinched together and he looked at Janus in confusion.

“Why?” He asked. “Why are they ghosts? Why is it your job to help them move on?”

“Many people have reasons to be ghosts, even if they don’t entirely know it yet. Remus over there doesn’t know why he’s still around after his brother died and Patton is watching over his family. His grandson Thomas lives not so far from here. And Roman is still in a bit of denial for why he is still here.” Janus avoided Virgil’s story of revenge. He still needed to work on that with him and make him see that that is not going to help him in the long run.

“And you?” Logan questioned. Janus looked back at him, the one eye not swollen shut trained on his. 

“I am a reaper. It’s my job.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this because I was dealing with a pet's sudden death idk. It's just an au I made because I like ghost aus. I also had a better title for this but it completely ruined the ending so I just have this shitty one.


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